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C-store Sector Lags Overall Biz-for-Sale Market

Closed transactions down on a year-over-year basis.

February 17, 2015, 12:50 pm

SAN FRANCISCO — Completed small-business convenience store transactions declined in terms of number of deals and median sale price in 2014 compared to the prior year, BizBuySell.com revealed in its 2014 Insight Report.

A total of 266 small-business c-store transactions closed in 2014 at a median sale price of $140,000, compared to 350 such transactions at an average sale price of $195,000 during 2013, reported BizBuySell.

Median revenues of the c-stores sold in the most recent quarter were $540,000, with median cash flows of $94,000. This compares to $595,000 and $104,172 in the prior year, respectively.

"Although nationally the business-for-sale marketplace continued to improve in 2014, leading to healthier small-business financials, it appears the convenience store sector fell behind in this recovery," said Bob House, group general manager of BizBuySell.com and BizQuest.com. Although this may be interpreted as bad news, he noted that the data may just be revealing that smaller-sized convenience stores were sold in 2014.

Overall, across all sectors, small-business transactions reached record levels last year, totaling 7,494 in 2014, an increase of 6 percent vs. 2013. On average, closed small-business transactions were up 55 percent in 2013 and 2014 compared to the recession and recovery period of 2010-2012.

The median sale price rose $5,000 year over year to $185,000. The median revenue of all businesses sold grew from $405,905 to $417,562, and the median cash flow rose from $97,000 to $100,000.

“It was great to see the transaction surge from 2013 carry over and even swell in 2014,” said House. “Small businesses continue to grow healthier, giving sellers confidence they can receive a good exit price and buyers optimism that they are receiving a sustainable business. The result is a market with many successful transactions for both sides.”

Thus far, 2015 also looks strong, according to BizBuySell. “The number of small-business listings on BizBuySell.com and BizQuest.com continue to grow as more owners begin the process of selling,” House said. “While the peak of this activity is unknown, all the fundamentals signal another strong market in 2015."

San Francisco-based BizBuySell.com is the largest marketplace for buying or selling a small business, with more than 1.4 million monthly visits.